1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of electrical connectors, particularly telephone wall jacks.
2. Description of the Related Art
The direction of electrical technology today is toward smaller, modular components. So-called modular telephone jacks are described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,188,082 to Dickey; the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference as if completely reproduced herein. U.S. Pat. No. 4,188,082 discloses the problem of foreign objects, including dust and children's fingers, being introduced into telephone wall jacks by air currents or otherwise. Disclosed therein is a gate biased by a spring to close the jack opening when it is not in use. It must be opened by manually moving the gate. However, an electrical appliance which connects directly to the jack, instead of by a plug attached to a cord, cannot be used in this prior art device because the biased gate cannot be opened while the appliance, such as a wall telephone, is being mounted on the wall jack.